Annual Research Conference

ENERGY ON THE MOVE

December 5-6, 2017, with related programming on December 7, 2017
MIT Media Lab, 75 Amherst St, Cambridge, MA 02139 (Map)

MITEI’s Annual Research Conference seeks to frame the key technology, policy and economic drivers that are shaping today’s energy industry and its future. This year’s theme is Energy on the Move. The first day of the program will feature sessions focused on industry perspectives on the energy transition, the digitization of energy—from machine learning and blockchain and cybersecurity—and a session on how new technologies are impacting the workforce. The day will conclude with a seated dinner honoring and featuring the MITEI Society of Energy Fellows, open to all conference attendees.

Sessions on Day 2 will showcase impactful projects made possible through MITEI’s member-supported Seed Fund and other programs and a session featuring industry viewpoints on the evolving electric power sector. The afternoon of the second day will feature the first MITEI Electric Power Systems (EPS) Low-Carbon Energy Center workshop—with open sessions for all conference attendees.

You are also invited to a Forum organized by MITEI’s Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) Low-Carbon Energy Center on December 7. This Forum provides an in-depth examination of critical questions for CCUS.

Please register for the conference; you can also download the detailed agenda or view below.

Conference program

Tuesday, December 5, 2017
Main Conference Location: MIT Media Lab – Building E14, 6^th floor, 75 Amherst St., Cambridge, MA 02139
Reception and Dinner Location: Samberg Conference Center – Building E52, 7^th floor, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02139

8:15-9:00 am	Breakfast and Registration
9:00-10:15 am	Welcome and Opening Discussion: 10 Years of the MITEI Annual Research Conference Robert C. Armstrong, MITEI Director and Professor of Chemical Engineering Ernest Moniz, 13th U.S. Secretary of Energy, Professor Emeritus and Special Advisor to the MIT President Reflecting on 10 years of Annual Research Conferences and looking to the future
10:15-10:45 am	Break
10:45 am-12:15 pm	Industry Perspectives on the Energy Transition Moderator: Robert C. Armstrong, Director of the MIT Energy Initiative and Chevron Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT Speakers: Pratima Rangarajan, CEO of Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) Climate Investments, on opportunities and challenges facing leaders of oil and gas companies on the path to decarbonization Regina García Cuéllar, Chief of Staff of Petreolos Méxicanos (PEMEX), on oil industry strategies to enable the transition Nick Pudar, Director and General Manager of Strategic Initiatives at General Motors Company, on the transportation sector in transition Agustín Delgado, Chief Innovation and Sustainability Officer of Iberdrola S.A., on how the power sector is approaching the energy transition
12:15-1:45 pm	Lunch and viewing of undergraduate research posters
1:45-3:15 pm	The Digitization of Energy: Machine Learning, Blockchain, and Cybersecurity Moderator: Francis O’Sullivan, Director of Research at the MIT Energy Initiative Speakers: Una May O’Reilly, Principal Research Scientist at the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at MIT, on machine learning Christian Catalini, Theodore T. Miller Career Development Professor and Assistant Professor of Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management at MIT Sloan School of Management, on blockchain Daniel J. Weitzner, Founding Director of the MIT Internet Policy Research Initiative and Principal Research Scientist at MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), on cybersecurity
3:15-3:45 pm	Break
3:45-5:15 pm	Race with the Machine: How New Technologies Are Impacting the Workforce Moderator: Barbara Dyer, Senior Lecturer, Behavioral and Policy Sciences at MIT Sloan School of Management Speakers: Michael Renner, Programme Officer in the Knowledge, Policy and Finance Centre of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), on current trends and energy jobs of the future Daron Acemoglu, Elizabeth and James Killian Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics at MIT Sloan School of Management, on how new technologies are affecting labor and the demand for different types of skills Daniela Rus, Andrew (1956) and Erna Viterbi Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at MIT, on how robotics and other fields play into the future workforce Julie Ferland, General Manager of Shell TechWorks for Shell Projects and Technology, on human capital and the future workforce
5:15-6:00 pm	Reception Location: Samberg Conference Center – Building E52, 7^th floor, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02139
6:00 pm	Dinner Honoring MITEI Society of Energy Fellows Open to all conference participants Location: Samberg Conference Center – Building E52, 7^th floor, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02139

Wednesday, December 6, 2017
Main Conference Location: MIT Media Lab – Building E14, 6^th floor, 75 Amherst St., Cambridge, MA 02139

7:30-8:30 am	Breakfast
8:30-10:00 am	New Energy Ideas and Talent at MIT Moderator: Robert Stoner, Deputy Director of Science and Technology at the MIT Energy Initiative; Director of the Tata Center for Technology and Design at MIT Speakers: Elsa Olivetti, Assistant Professor of Energy Studies in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT Christoph Reinhart, Professor of Architecture and Director of the Building Technology Program in the School of Architecture + Planning at MIT Jing Li, Postdoctoral Associate at the MIT Energy Initiative Kripa Varanasi, Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT Sharing past and current sponsored research that is catalyzing the development of new energy technologies
10:00-10:30 am	Break
10:30 am-12:00 pm	The Evolving Power Market Landscape: Unlocking Value Moderator: Francis O’Sullivan, Director of Research at the MIT Energy Initiative Speakers: Frank Demaille, CEO of Engie North America, on positioning for the energy transition Eric Gebhardt, Vice President of Systems and Innovation at GE Power, on the future of electricity generation, transmission, and distribution Kayte O’Neill, Vice President of Regulatory Strategy, National Grid, on on the regulatory implications of the sector’s changing landscape Christopher Knittel, George P. Shultz Professor of Applied Economics at MIT Sloan School of Management, on energy policy

Special Programming: First Workshop of the MIT Energy Initiative Electric Power Systems Low-Carbon Energy Center
Open to all Annual Research Conference participants
Location: MIT Media Lab – Building E14, 6^th floor, 75 Amherst St., Cambridge, MA 02139

12:00-12:30 pm	Lunch and Welcome
12:30-12:50 pm	Today’s Electricity Sector and Its Evolving Techno-economic Landscape Speaker: Francis O’Sullivan, Director of Research at the MIT Energy Initiative
12:50-2:00 pm	Opportunities and Challenges for the Design, Operation, and Regulation of the Evolving Power System Speakers: Joel Brenner, Senior Research Fellow for the Center for International Studies at MIT Marija Ilić, Visiting Professor at the Institute for Data, Systems and Society at MIT Jesse Jenkins, Doctoral Candidate in Energy Systems at the Institute for Data, Systems and Society at MIT
2:00-2:30 pm	Break
2:30-3:45 pm	The Implications of Digitization, Electrification of Mobility, and the Built Environment Speakers: Munther Dahleh, Director of the Institute for Data, Systems and Society and William A. Coolidge Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT David Keith, Mitsui Career Development Professor and Assistant Professor of System Dynamics at MIT Leslie Norford, George Macomber (1948) Professor in Construction Management in the Department of Architecture at MIT
3:45-4:15 pm	Discussion and Path Forward
4:45-5:45 pm	EPS Advisory Committee Meeting Open only to EPS Center Members

Thursday, December 7, 2017

Special Programming: Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage Center Forum
Open to all Annual Research Conference participants
Location: MIT Media Lab – Building E14, 6^th floor, 75 Amherst St., Cambridge, MA 02139

9:00-10:30 am	What Are the Opportunities for CO₂ Valorization?
10:30-11:00 am	Break
11:00 am-12:30 pm	Is There Sufficient Storage Capacity to Enable Carbon Capture at a Large Scale?
12:30 pm	Adjourn

Featured Participants, December 7:

Alan Hatton, Professor and Director of the David H. Koch School of Chemical Engineering Practice, and Co-director of the MITEI Low-Carbon Energy Center for Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage
Brad Hager, Professor of Earth Sciences, Director of the Earth Resources Laboratory, and Co-Director of the MITEI Low-Carbon Energy Center for Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage
Yogesh Surendranath, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, and Associate Director of the MITEI Low-Carbon Energy Center for Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage
Alissa Park, Lenfest Chair in Applied Climate Science, and Director of the Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy at The Earth Institute of Columbia University
Michael Szulczewski, Computational Modeling Technology Team Leader at Aramco Services
Jordan Kearns ’17, MITEI